Introducing the HP-12C(RE)!
Some things can’t wait until Tuesday…. Are you a commercial real estate (CRE) finance professional? If so, you likely know all about the HP-12C financial calculator. (Why would you use anything else?!)
One doesn’t need to be a real estate professional to know about the Four Corners. You know the piece of real estate where the four states of AZ, CO, NM, and UT meet.
Today, I introduce the HP-12C(RE)…that’s the HP-12Commercial Real Estate (style)…to the wide world (all of which is real estate). (And you’re not considering a career in real estate because…?)
If you’re practicing CRE, whether in the field or classroom, here is how you can use the memory of the HP-12C financial calculator, thus turning into an HP-12C(RE):
Photo by Brent Pritchard. Copyright 2025 Brent Pritchard. All rights reserved.
These are the four corners of the HP-12C memory keys that consist of the most important investment or credit metrics. Notice how these memory keys minimize your movements by putting the number you need to divide by close by. (Like a guitarist efficiently gliding their fingers along the fretboard.) Further notice how the “DY” memory key can be used for either the Going-in Debt Yield (GI)DY or the Exit Debt Yield (E)DY.
Hands down, these are the memory keys CRE finance professionals should use when analyzing a deal.
How do you know when to give a real estate deal the green light?
Brent Pritchard is an author and college finance educator with over two decades of industry experience and cofounder of Boxholm Press, LLC, a family-owned-and-operated publishing company providing educational content, products, and services. He pioneers an innovative and approachable new way of learning and teaching the Time Value of Money as well as thought leadership in other business topics. His most recent book is Would Your Boomerang Return? You can contact him on his website here.